Hindus in Assam have to wage relentless struggles for survival

End of constitutionalism invokes bloody conflict

Can the ongoing conflicts between Hindus (not Bodos only) and Islamists in Assam, hailing from Bangladesh, end anyhow? This is the burning question of the day with no solution close at hand. Both governments at Assam and Delhi are in a fix and the sole reason being – obstinacy of Islamists to shelve their nefarious designs in Assam and (more striking) defiance of Hindus (led by Bodos) in this regard.

Islamists thought, this time too, citing their predominance in the last seven centuries (acquired by brutality, deception and ingrained hatred against Hindus) in the Indian subcontinent, they would win the game of procuring vast parts of Assam in a jiffy. However, the violent defiance of Hindus – especially Bodos – has trounced the entire design. And what has come to the fore beyond doubt – thanks to inhuman negligence of both State and Central Governments (successively) as regards volatile situations in Assam (despite shipping myriad SOS) – the state is uncontrollable and with each day it passes the situation is moving out of the frying pan into the fire.

Let’s delve into the nitty-gritty to comprehend more. Bodos, in short, happen to be earliest settlers in Assam and do belong to Bodo-Kachari family. They are found in several districts of Assam including Chirang, Kamrup, Udalguri, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Baksa, Sonitpur, Darrang and Barpeta.

We must go through imperative facts regarding Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) as well.

Bodoland Territorial Council containing Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri districts was formed to restrain Bodos’ violent struggles, initiated in 1988, to form separate state and their slogan "Divide Assam 50-50" then is still remembered with awe. To have the goal, Bodos formed militant outfits like Bodoland Liberation Tigers (BLT) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). And at last on February 10, 2003, owing to a series of talks between Union, Assam Governments and BLT led by Hagrama Mohilary, autonomy (under the concept of a-state-within-a-state) was declared paving the way towards Bodoland Territorial Council. 

Bodoland Territorial Council consists of lots of communities including Bengali Hindus and also Muslims, Assamese, Rajbongshis, Ravas, Nepalis and Adivasis of Chota Nagpur origin. Nonetheless, Bengali Muslims happen to be most dominant, owing to continuous influx from Bangladesh, in the area. At the moment, Bengali Muslims form 31.3% of the entire populace in Assam with a population of 3.1 crore. They virtually control districts of Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta, Darrang, Nagaon, Karimganj and Hailakandi.

Islamists are hell-bent to wrest BTC to attain their higher goals; hence, they are found ever more to deal with lands of BTC illegally irking Bodos altogether. Hindus claim that Bengali Muslim infiltrators, backed by Bangladesh, are getting involved in all sorts of crimes in the vicinity putting Hindu existence at highest risk only.

What is the status of Assam Accord (signed between the Centre and Assam leaders in 1985) at the moment? It is to be noted that three of the main clause of the agreement were detection and deportation of illegal migrants, update of the National Register of Citizens and erection of a border fence between India and Bangladesh. But the saga of detection and deportation of infiltrators is not an easy task. The government has felt this owing to three factors at the same instant -  

Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act – 1983, tenacious refusal of Bangladesh to recognize presence of its citizens in the Indian state of Assam, fierce resistance of Islamists to upgrade National Register of Citizen (NRC).

Another factor is there as well. The Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act was scrapped by the Supreme Court in 2005 and therefore, the obligation remains on the administration or plaintiff to prove whether one is outlander.

Even if current problems come to a halt or end (as a fiction of imagination), will the future be secured? Perhaps not, as the majority of borders with Bangladesh in north-east is yet to be fenced. That’s why, Islamic infiltrators from Assam enter the Indian mainland through Dhubri, having long riverine border with Bangladesh, Garo Hills in Meghalaya, Karimganj and Cachar in Bengali-dominated Barak Valley, Tripura and Bengal. Other states of north-east like Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya do suffer the same catastrophe of illegal infiltration of Islamists from Bangladesh.

These states are proceeding to a similar kind of bloody struggle gradually. So……………….. Hindus in Assam shall have to fight; it will go on………..till the complete victory is attained.